Pimento cheese deviled eggs

A reader recently emailed me, asking for my deviled egg recipe. In her letter, she explained she was at work and had left my book at home. While she had hoped to find the recipe on my site, after poking around she noticed it wasn’t there.

In my reply, I said that to keep the books interesting, I include plenty of recipes that aren’t on my site. She said she understood, but added: “It doesn’t have to be the same recipe—there are many ways to make deviled eggs.” And this is very true.

Deviled eggs are one of those foods that you’ll see at most Texan gatherings—from birthdays to funerals, from Christmas Eve dinners to Fourth of July picnics. They are timeless.

They are also easy to prepare, as evidenced by the fact they were one of the first things that I cooked on a regular basis. When I was young, I’d come home from school, boil an egg or two, scoop out the yolk, mash it with lots of mustard, a little bit of mayonnaise, a dash of Worcestershire, and then go to town with the spice cabinet. Deviled eggs made for a very fine (and fun) snack.

It’s probably their simplicity and ubiquity that made me ignore them for so long in this space. And yet, even though I have a recipe in my first book (and there will be another in my second book), as my reader noted, there is no shortage of good ways to make a deviled egg. In doing some research on another topic that is dear to many of our hearts—pimento cheese—I learned this cheese spread was once commonly made with hard-boiled egg yolks. I tried making a batch in that fashion, but it wasn’t quite what I was used to eating. Though when you turned it around and made pimento cheese part of a stuffed, hard-boiled egg, it suddenly made more sense.

Pimento-cheese deviled eggs. Does it get much better than that? No, not really. And making these deviled eggs takes no time at all, especially if you’re like me and forgo doing any fancy piping with the filling.

With these eggs, I haven’t taken too many liberties—I’ve just used my family’s basic filling and then thrown in some chopped jarred pimientos and a splash of their brine, some cheddar, a little bit of garlic, a little bit of onion, and then finished it off with a sprinkle of paprika and cayenne for heat and color—they are called deviled, after all.

So if you’re heading to a potluck, a picnic, or just hanging out with your family and friends, these pimento cheese deviled eggs will be a popular addition. And they will certainly make most folks smile.

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Pimento cheese deviled eggs

Servings4

AuthorLisa Fain

Ingredients

6large hard-cooked eggs, peeled and cut in half lengthwise

2tablespoonsyellow mustard

2tablespoonsmayonnaise

1/4teaspoonWorcestershire sauce

1clovegarlic, minced

1tablespoongrated white onion

1/4cupshredded Cheddar cheese

2tablespoonsjarred pimientos, diced

1/2teaspoonjarred pimiento brine

1/4teaspooncayenne

Salt

Paprika

Instructions

Scoop the yolks out from the eggs into a bowl and mash until smooth. Stir in the mustard, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, onion, cheddar cheese, pimientos, pimiento brine, and cayenne. Adjust seasonings and add salt to taste.

Scoop or pipe mixture into halved eggs and sprinkle with paprika and/or cayenne, if you like.

Recipe Notes

There are countless ways to boil eggs. My favorite is to place the eggs in a single layer, cold from the refrigerator, into a large pot. I then cover with at least 1 inch of water, bring the pot to a boil uncovered, then cover the pot, remove from the heat, and let sit for 17 minutes. After this time, immediately remove the eggs from the pot and place the eggs in an ice-water bath for at least 30 minutes. Older eggs will be easier to peel, and if you’re organized you can turn the eggs on their side the night before so the yolks will be centered in the white.

Pimento cheese and deviled eggs! I'll be making these with Easter eggs on Sunday.

I'm an Oklahoman now living in Maryland. I've introduced my kids to some of the home foods I love like pimento cheese and deviled eggs. My five year old loves pimento cheese (calls it cracker cheese, his preferred way of eating it) and has asked me to make some for him to bring into school when he is snack kid in a couple of weeks. I'm wondering if the other kids will even touch it. 🙂

Anon–I like the name cracker cheese–how cute! And I found when I first moved to the East Coast that people were wary at first with both pimento cheese and queso, but once they took a bite they were hooked.

I think I'll give this a try, but using your Chipotle Pimento Cheese (from the book) because I have never met a more perfect pimento cheese… hard to think of anything savory that a little chipotle can't improve…

Oh, my! There are at least a bazillion ways to make both deviled eggs and pimento cheese, and this may just be one of the most perfect things ever invented. Thank you!

A lady in Dallas taught me to make pimento cheese. I thought that it sounded utterly disgusting but it truely IS quite good. Just equal parts grated Velveeta (really!) and sharp, sharp cheddar. Mix in a bit or mayo (must be the real thing for this recipe) and as much pimento (with the juice) as you want. Amounts depend upon how much you have on hand, of course. Additions could be anything which sounds good!

This looks great. Also have to tell you that during my recent move, my sister-in-law who's from New Mexico spotted your cookbook and took it home with her. Now I think I will have to buy her one so she will give mine back; she LOVES the book!

Oh WOW, what a great idea! I have never considered incorporating cheese into deviled eggs but this sounds amazing! A match made in heaven. Just made deviled eggs for Easter dinner yesterday…next time I make them I'll try this recipe!

Ah, they sound delicious. Now try a deviled egg with some chopped capers in the base recipe (minus the mustard though). I also make them with chopped Kalamata olives. Or, currants and curry paste/powder. YUMMY

I randomly stumbled across your blog, and I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm a native Texan (born in Houston and raised in COLLEGE STATION)…thanks to the Marine Corps, I have lived everywhere, BUT our great home state. What a great blog with amazing recipes that give me a little taste of home! Consider me your newest follower!

I've recently become a convert to steaming my hard-boiled eggs. Yes, steaming them in a steamer basket in a pot on my stove. I bring about 1/2" of water to a boil with the steamer in the pot and the cover on. Once it comes to the boil, I add a dozen eggs from the fridge and cover the pot. I let it go for 12 minutes, and then remove it from the stove, fill it with cold water and ice in the sink, and wait about 5 minutes. Crack, peel, enjoy.

I get the organic eggs from Costco which heretofore were always impossible to peel no matter what I did: aged them, used an egg piercer, various gunk added to the water. Nothing worked to make them easier to peel. Steaming has made them incredibly easy to peel.

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